Air-ship



(No Model.)

' J. P. HOLMES.

AIR SHIP.

'No. 397,647. Patented Feb. 12, 1889.

ATTOR/Vfh? 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.) M

J. P. HOLMES.

- AIR SHIP.

Pa tnted Feb;

ATTOR/VEVJ.

5 Shbets--Sheet 4. (NoModel') J. P. HOLMES.

AIR SHIP.

No. 397,647. Pa tented Feb. 12,1889.

all/l WITNESSES:

(No Model.)

I l 5 Sheets-Sheet 5. J. P. HOLMES.

AIR SHIP.

' No. 397,647. Patented Feb. 12, 1889.

WITNESSES:

.the' -lineft 2, Fig. 1. cal transverse section of the main frame and UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN I.'HOI-.MES, OF OAK VALLEY, KANSAS.

AIR-stun srscirxcA'rron forming part of Letters Batent No. 397,647, dated February 12, 1889.

4 Application filedLpil 18, 1888. serial No. 271,062. on model.)

T all 1071-01 12; it may concern-.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN P. HOLMES, of

Oak Valley, in'the county of Elk and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Air-Ship, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. 7 .7

My invention relates to a ship or machine for navigating the air, and has for its objectto provide a simple, light, strong apparatus of this character, which may be readily adj usted and controlled by the aeronaut to give the best results in flight with the least expenditure of power. Q

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the air-ship, all as hereinafter-described and claimed.

Referen as is to behad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar lettersof reference indicate corresponding parts'inallthe figures.

Figure l is aside elevation of my improved air-ship, partly brhken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view'thereof with the aeroplane removed and; the frame suspension-bars in. horizontal section entire line 1 1 in Fig. 1. Fig. I 3 is a front view of' the air-ship with the propeller wheel .n veriiical transverse section taken on Fig. 4 is a detail vertithe aero-plane-setting shaft and .connections, taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail front elevation of the propeller-wheel and adjacent parts. Fig. -6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of oneend of the aeroplan e-setting shaft, its bearing, and the planelocking device. Fig. 7- is a detail transverse section. taken on. the line 4 4- in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail sectionalview of one oft-he propeller wings or blades and its shaft andtriparm. Fig. 9 is a top or plan view of the aeroplane, and Fig. 10 is a plan view of the st-eering vane or rudder of the air-ship. The air-ship is made with a frame, A, suspended by hanger bars or rods 13 from an aero- 5 plane, 0. At its rear end or stem the frame A, which consists, mainly, of two parallel and bars, an, of the frame A, and preferably at points equidistant from and in front and rear horizontal side bars, a a, has attached to or hung from it a canvas'or other suitabie fabric or structure, D, which isfastened to theframe'f bars a a and forms arest or support on which breast and stomach, so that his hands may conveniently reach a transverse cranked shaft,

E, journaledin brackets e, fixed to the frame I side bars, and alsoa trans\-'erse cranked shaft, F, journaledin bearings-f on the. side bars.

The shaft E serves, with suitable connections, to alter the incline or pitch of the aero-plane, and the shaft 1 with suit-able connections,

' serves to rotate a propeller-wheel, G, which is journaled at the front or bows of the airship.

At the stern of the ship and to the aeronauts support D the rudder-sailI-I is connected, and on this rudder lie a couple of long narrow sacks or pouches, I I, which are preferably attached to-"lthe support D and to the sidebars of the rudder, and are intended to receive" the legs of the aeronaut to allow him to guide the ship by his legs in its flight.

This general statement of the construction of the airship will 'now be amplified by a detailed description of its various parts, as follows:

The frame A consists mainly of the two parallel side bars, a a, above mentioned, which are stayed or braced at the shipsjhows by rods a to cam-sleeves J .l',which are-fitted onto a shaft, J, which is preferably tubular and is. journaled transversely on the frame, and to which the hub of the propeller G' is fixed. The shaft J thus also braces the side bars, a a, of the frame. The frame side bars are braced to'each other at the rear or stern by the; stay-bars a a which are securely bound together where they cross each other beneath the ae'ronauts support D, and also strengthen it. The opposite ends of the shafts E F may also be fitted in their journals onthe I frame side bars in amanner to effectively stay the bars to each other, while allowing free rotation of the shafts.

The .aero-plane C ispivoted at 'c c to angular journal-supports'b b-one at each side of the machine and in each of these supports b are fixed the upper-ends of a paiizof the mam frame su'spender-barsB E,which diverge downward and are connected to the respective side ofthe journalsof the shaft E,which crosses the mainframe directly under the pivots c c of the hero-plane, which may thils be rocked up and down on said pivots for adjusting it at bestangle relatively to the main frame, the aeronauts support, and the propellerwheel for utilizing wiml-currents and the propelling force of the wheel to the best advantage in sailing the ship. To adjust the aero-plane on its pivots, I connect to it at two places, k 7c, atcach side and about at equal distances from the plane-pivots, a couple of ropes, K K, which run'thence downward and through eyes I) 1), formed in or held to the two bars 1;]; at that side ofthe machine, and

are connected at their lower ends, I." It", with the opposite ends of a chain, K, which runs on and under a chain or sprocket wheel, K, which is fixed to that end of the cranked shaft E. These ropes K, the chain K, and the wheel K are duplicated at the other side of the machine, and whereby, as the shaft E is turned by the aeronaut grasping its cranked central part, c, the chains K will be operated to draw on the ropes K for setting the aeroplane at any required angle. If desired, the chains K may'ex tend directly from the wheels K to connect at- Itwith the aero-plane, and in this case the ropes l\' would be dispensed with; but the ropes are at present preferred. Thepassage of the ropes through the eyes I) of the suspender-bars B prevents slip of the chains from their sprocket-wheels, and also prevents undue shaking of the ropes by the wind.

To look the aeroplane at any desired adjustment, I have provided ala-tch device and operating means therefor, (shown most clearly in Figs. 4, 6, and 7 of the drawings,) which representthe shaft E made hollow, in the preferred way, and fitted at each end with a slide-bolt, I, which is normally forced through the shaft by its spring I far enough to engage any one of a series of interior notches, m, made in a casing, M, which is fixed to the adjacent bearing e ofthe shaft E. To the bolt L, at each of the bearings e, at opposite sides of the machine, is pivotally connect-ed one end of a lever, N, which is fulcrumedin a forked bearing, 12, held, preferably by a bolt and nut, to and within the shaft, and the other end of the lever N is connected to one end of. a link, 0, which passes through the right-angular part "or wrist bar I connection e of the crank, and at its other end is connected to one end of a lever, P, which is fulcrumed to a forked bearing, p, held by a bolt and nut to and within the wrist portion or bar e of the cranked shaft. At their inner adjacent ends the two lovers P P are formed or provided with pins 1-) p, which project through the crank-wrist. c, and are close enough together to allow both of them to be depressed by one hand of the aeronaut-the same hand by which he will turn the shaft E,

to adjust the aeroplane. With this construction it is obvious that by depressing the pins or buttons 12 the bolts L at each side of the ship will be simultaneously withdrawn from the notches m of the casings M, with which they had been engaged, and the shaft E may then be turned y the hand holdingt'hc pins or buttons in, to set.- the acro-planc by the draft of the chain and ropes h" K, and when the desired adjustment is obtained the buttons or pins 1') will be released and the springs of the bolts L will instantly project them into other notches mof the casings M to lock the plane in its new position. '1 prefer to make the cranked shaft E of sections of light metal tubes screwed together at the joints; but the shaft may be made of a bent tube, il' preferred. The system of levers and links N t) P may also be arranged outside of and along the cranked shaft, should it be madcot' a solid rod or bar, and maybe o 'icrat'cd substantially in theananner above described. it is manifest that while the aero-plane is being adjusted by'one hand of the aeronaut, as above described, his other hand is free to turn the cranked shaft F to continue the rotation of the propeller, and in a manner presently explained. The acroplanc (J'is tirade with a lrainc comprising a series of longitudinal rods, c, and transverse rods 0 which are preferably tapered toward their ends and are suitably bound or clamped together where they cross each other, and about at the center of the plane a couple of crossed light-metal bracerods, c c, are preferably employed. Th is rod frame is covered at one face, preferably its under side, by a silken fabric,,c, shaped marginally as shown in Fig. 5) of the drawings, the whole making a very light and strong structure well adapted for its purposes.

I will next describe the propeller and its connections with the mainframe and means for operating it from the shaft .F, as follows: As hereinbefore stated, the hub y of the propeller G is fixed to the tubular shaft J ,which is journaled at opposite ends in boxes formed at the end parts of the sleeve-cams J J, and in half-boxes jj' held to the opposite side bars, a a, of the frame A. One of the sleeves J is arranged above the shaft J and the other sleeve is below the shaft, and both sleeves are snugly held' to the tube by bent rods jj, which, with the stay-bars a, connecting the sleeves and the side bars aof the main frame A, hold the sleeves securely in place, while allowing free rotation of the propeller-shaft J within the sleeves. The half-boxy", holding the sleeve which is above the shaft J, is also provided with a box or bearing which either partly or wholly surrounds the adjacent fra1ne bar a, and the half-box j formedat the outer end of the sleeve J, lying under the shaft, is also provided with a box or bearing which partly or wholly encircles the other side bar a of the frame A, and asshown most-clearly in Fig. of the drawings. The sleevesJ, the tubular shaft J, and the frame-bars a. a thus mutually support each other, while the propeller blades or wings are free to rotate between the opposing inner ends or cam-faces R ofthe propeller-blades, each of which is" of the sleeves J J, to cause feathering of the blades to the air, aspresently explained.

The frame of the propeller-wheel consists of the wheel-hub g and two outer rings, g 9 which rings are connected by spokes g and in the frame are journaled thexradial shafts made with a bent rod frame, s, fixed at its outer transverse cross-bar to the outer end of. the shaft R and covered by a silk or other fabric,

S, which in certain positions of the blade offers resistance to the wind. posite ends of the blade-frames are cutaway to allow the frame to clear the ring g when the blades turn as the propeller rotates. To the shaft R of each of the propeller-blades is fixed at its angle an elbow-lever, T, the equal arms of which are adapted to act alternately on the inner cam-faces, t F, of the sleeves J J on the propeller-shaft J. It is obvious that propeller is rotated the action of the sleeves J.J will turn the frames .9 S of the blades edgewise to the wind,.and so hold them during their rotation or passage-through the air above the level of the propeller-shaft, and

back of the aeronaut and fastened at their nected loosely w'ill'i'm'n the blades flatwise to the wind during their passage around below the level. of the propeller-shaft, and as clearly represented in the drawings. This construction and action of the propeller assures its maximum lifting and propelling power to raise and urge the air-ship forward and with minimum loss by back-pressu re of the air. The propeller is operated by a chain belt, U, which extends from a chain or sprocket wheel, 11, on its shaft to a largersprocket-Wheel, u, on the end of the cranked shaft F, which is turned by the aeronaut lying on the support D, as hereinbefore explained.

The rudder or tail-vane H of the air-ship is made with a frame consistingof two opposite side ,rods or bars h h, whichare connected in any suitable manner to the aeronauts support I) or its frame or braces, and extend rearward and preferably diverge toward their back ends. -'.lo these side bars h h is cona cross-bar, 72 which is provided at the ends with eyes k h", through which t-he bars 72 h are passed, and collars or washers it at each side of the eyes prevent slipping of the cross-bar along the side bars,

' but allow free up-anddlown play of the side bars in the eyes. A silk or othersuitable fab ric, h is held to and between the rudder side bars to oifer resistance to thewind. The connection. of the rudder side bars to the aeronauts support also allows .a bodily upand-down movement of t the tail of a bird. The leg sacks or pouches I I for the aeronaut are preferably attached both to the support I) and to the opposite side bars h 71 of the rudder, and the sacks are preferably provided with straps or cords V, which are intended to be passed over the The op-- entire rudder, which in lts construction somewhat resembles front ends to suitable buttons, 1', fixed to the front edge of the canvas support D. It will be seen that While the aeronaut, lying on the support D, has the aero-pl ane-adju sting shaft and devices, and also the propeller-operating ,slia'ftand connections, in full (-.('nm nand oi -hisha-nds, his legs within the rudder-sacks I ar-e; free to raise and lower the rudder either bodily in horizontal plane or to raise either fs'idcf-bar' of'fhe rudder higher than the other to set the rudder fabric h at any required twist or angle or angles of inclination to the horizon to guide the air-ship in its flight.

It is obvious that as the aeronaut is supported back of the point of suspension of the main frame, and as the tendency of .the propeller is'tolift the front of the air-ship as it moves forward, the aeronaut, lying in a downwardly and bae'kwardly inclined posture, can sustain a considerable portion of his weight on his legs and feet, and. thus the more easily operate the ship to the best advantage without exhausting his strength.

The bearin gs or brackets e for the shaft E are extended downward at c to strike the ground before the propeller does in alighting, and thus prevent injury to the propeller. I may at times provide a head-rest for the aerouaut on the support D, and the latter may also be provided with holes, through which the aeronauts arms will be passed ,to reach the aero l-plane adjusting and propeller-operating cranks when the parts are relatively arranged otherwise than shown in the drawings, and 'as will readily be understood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isa 1. An air-ship consisting of the horizontal frame having upwardly-extending supports between its ends, the vertically-rockingaeroplane monnted on the upper ends of said supports, the vertical propeller at the front end of the frame, the aeronauts support between the rear ends of the frame, and the propeller and aeroplane-operating mechanismswithin reach of the front end of said support, and the rudder-sail extending from the rear end of the aeronauts support for operation by the legs of the operator, substantially as set forth.

2. An air-ship consisting of the horizontal framchavin 'n wardlwoxtendin"su i orts-orv D suspension-rods between its ends, the aeroplane pivoted to rock vertically on the said supports, the propeller mounted at the front end of ftheframe, the support at the rear end of 'ihe frame, upon .which the aeronautmay lie, the horizontal crank-shaft journalled between the propeller and front end of the aeronauts supportwithin reach of the operator, gearing connecting said shaft and propeller, a second horizontal,crank-shaftjournaled on the frame adjacent to the said aeronauts sup port, and having connections with the aeroplane fore and aft of the fulcrum, lockingbolts at opposite ends of the said second shaft engaging parts of the frame to lock the plane in position, and operating levers at the cranked or hand-.hold part of. the shaft connected with said bolts, whereby the aeronaut may rotate the first-named shaft with one hand and release and operate the second shaft with the other, substantially as set forth.

3. In an air-ship, the combination, with an aero-plane, and a frame suspended therefrom and carrying an aeronauts support, and to which frame the plane is fulcru m ed to rock f ore and aft, of a transverse tubulancranked shaft, E,journaled on the f rame or in brackets held thereto, latch-bolts L, fitted to and within the ends of the shaftand adapted to engage any one of a series of notches m, formed in casings M on the frame, levers and links N O P, fitted in the shaft, and the two levers P, extended.

at p through the center of the crank-wrist in reach of the aeronaut, substantially as de-- scribed, for the purposes set forth.

4. In an air-ship, the combination, with a frame suspended from an aero-plane and carrying an aeronauts support, of a propeller consisting of a shaft, J, journaled on the frame, and blades or wings pivoted by their radial shafts to the propeller hub or body, sleeves J J, held to the shaft one above and the other below it and one at each side of the propeller, and said sleeves having camfaces t t and trip-levers T on the propeller blade shafts and operating on the cam-faces to turn and hold the blades into and out of the wipd as the propeller rotates, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In an air-ship, the combination, with a frame suspended from an acre-plane and supporting a propeller and its operating mechanism, of a support for the aeronaut at the stern of the frame, a rudder-sail connected t-hereat and behind the aerona-uts support, and sacks held to the rudder and adapted to receive the legs of the aeronaut lying on the support, substantially as herein set forth.

6. In an air-ship, the combiiratiomwith the main frame carrying an aeronauts support and a propeller and it-s'operating'm'echanisln, all suspended from an acre-plane, of a rudder, ll, consisting of side bars, 7th, a crossbar, 71", having end eyes, 71 receiving the bars 71, loosely, a fabric, 71-, held to and between the bars h h 71 and sacks I I, held one to' each side bar of the rudder and adapted to receive the legs of the aeronaut, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

7.11] an air-ship, the combination, with the main frame carrying an aeronauts support and a propeller and'its operating mechanism, of a rudder, I I, held to the aeronauts support,

sacks I Lheld one to each side barof the rudder and adapted to receive the legsof the aeronaut, and straps or cords V, connected to the sacks and adapted for attachment at their forward ends to the acronauts support or the frame, substantially as described,for the purposes set forth.

JOHN P. HOLMES. Witnesses;

GEO. B. SATER,

F. D. SANGER. 

